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I own the MG ZR 105, which has a 1.4 engine.
This is the most basic of the MG class. No frills, just a basic car.
I bought it in April 2003 for £7995 with 9000 miles on the clock.
To date, I've added 26,000 miles to the clock from frequent trips up and down South, and I have to ... Read review
Advantages: Nippy drive, good handling, economical, looks sexy! Disadvantages: Spacesaver tyre, too pricey for what you get, after-sales cust support
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I own the MG ZR 105, which has a 1.4 engine.
This is the most basic of the MG class. No frills, just a basic car.
I bought it in April 2003 for £7995 with 9000 miles on the clock.
To date, I've added 26,000 miles to the clock from frequent trips up and down South, and I have to say that when it comes to long distance driving, the ZR has never grumbled once.
It's very very good on motorways, it can keep ... ...imagine the MG ZR 160 would fly on Motorways!!
It's an extremely economical car also. Mainly on long distance driving, though I imagine that's the same for most cars.
To be honest, it actually uses more oil than petrol! Funny I know, but true!!
Since taking ownership, I've had it back to the Dealers garage twice, to query 8 different faults on it, my main gripe being the amount of oil it was getting through, which is ... more
Updated 20/8/04 - I realised I hadn't added enough info after reading the comment from the Operator, hence amending this so hopefully I cover all points for anyone who read this.
I own the MG ZR 105, which has a 1.4 engine. This is the most basic of the MG class. No frills, just a basic car.
I bought it in April 2003 for £7995 with 9000 miles on the clock. To date, I've added 26,000 miles to the clock from frequent trips up and down South, and I have to say that when it comes to long distance driving, the ZR has never grumbled once. It's very very good on motorways, it can keep pace with most cars, so to this end, I imagine the MG ZR 160 would fly on Motorways!!
It's an extremely economical car also. Mainly on long distance driving, though I imagine that's the same for most cars. To be honest, it actually uses more oil than petrol! Funny I know, but true!! Since taking ownership, I've had it back to the Dealers garage twice, to query 8 different faults on it, my main gripe being the amount of oil it was getting through, which is usually a litre or so, after 500 miles. Seems like quite a lot to me, but I was assured by the Rover mechanic, that according to their manufacture spec, an MG ZR is expected to use approx 1 litre of oil to every 1000 miles. He agreed this is a bit excessive, but thinks it's a case of the manufacturer giving themselves a bit of leeway on the figures.
For anyone who's interested, the other faults I have experienced are: - Squealing breaks - even when new. - Driver's door and handle panels coming off - Front passenger seat not lifting forward (cos part of the leverage underneath the seat had snapped off) - Rear driver passenger seat plastic handle (that pushes the seat forwards) snapping on the first attempt at moving it forwards - Boot taking up to 7 attempts to shut - after slamming it really hard! - Car key not fitting the boot lock! (Turns out the wrong lock's been fitted, but they've still not got back to me on this one yet!)
The only other problem I seem to be having lately which I've not reported (and probably won't bother) is that the gearbox doesn't like being put into Reverse or 1st gear. It makes a terrible grinding noise even when my foot is pressing the clutch firmly to the floor. I usually have to pump it a few times to get it in gear. I'm no mechanic by any means, but that doesn't seem right to me!
Please don't be put off by this, cos I'm sure not all ZR's are going to be the same, especially judging by some of the reviews on this page, and apart from the last fault I mention, these don't in any way affect the driving of the car. It's served me well since I bought it, so I have no niggles about that, but I'm not intending on keeping hold of it anyway, because I feel that I need a more robust car to meet my motoring needs, so my next one is going to be a Freelander.
Other things to note about the ZR is: the most technical aspect is the central locking! It has just the basic scroll-down windows, no air-con and no sunroof, and in my opinion, £7995 is a bit of a steep price tag for this kind of spec, but anyway....
The last thing I'm not so sure about is the 'spacesaver' tyre. Personally, I'd rather have lost some boot space (or store it underneath the chassis like they do on earlier Saxo's) just for the convenience of having a proper tyre there. I found this to my disadvantage last June when I had a blow-out on the M1. The existing tyre was blown to bits so had to put the space saver on (or rather the copper did who pulled up to see what was wrong). However, the problem for me was the 50mph speed limit that comes with the spacesaver, and the fact that you're only supposed to go about 30 miles or so on it (obviously because it's only meant as a temp workaround) which is a bit of a bugger if you're 150-odd miles from home!! Luckily the car never grumbled & you couldn't really tell it was on, which was just as well really. But fully functioning tyres are something I take for granted unfortunately, and having a space saver really makes you think twice about being prepared for long-distance journeys.
Overall, the MG is quite a cute car, the 105 lacks power, but what else would you expect from the lowest spec of the range. Also, the suspension is very stiff, so you can take a corner quite fast and make everyone else on the road jealous!! I found it quite fun to drive at first, but I'm used to it now, so the novelty's kinda worn off a bit for me. The bucket seats are comfortable as well. I did find it annoying to handle in a medium covering of snow, but I think now that this could've been more to do with the tyres I had on at the time, rather than the handling of the car. After all it's the tyres that really test it's ability in that white stuff.
As for the layout/looks of the MG inside, I tend to agree with other reviewers on this site - on the outside the car looks like an MG, on the inside, it's got Rover 25 written all over it.
At the end of the day, it's down to the individual if they wish to buy one or not, so I hope this review has given you some decent advice, but it's impossible not to like an MG ZR, just don't pay out over the odds for it. Get a decent 2nd hand one, that's what I would do if I ever went for another. I would also go for a higher-spec model next time as well, because I think you get better performance, as well as more 'toys' inside.
Advantages: Looks great and fab drive Disadvantages: shoddy build quality, bad residuals.
...the garage who said 'Rover MG dont offer this with the MG ZR however they have included a can of foam to put in the tyre to get your to a garage" NEVER put the foam in as it will wreck the trye and cost you WAY more than a puncture should. Best bet is to buy a space saver wheel. Personally I think this is a shocking policy as if you pay £13k for a new car, SURELY you should get a spare wheel.......
Have only had the car serviced once so far, but ... ...to be able to get rid of some of the sqeeks and rattles. It only cost me bout £80 but this was a special offer. Didnt get offered a courtisy car though, only offered to give me lift to work.
All in all, as i said, I do love my car, would just like it to be built better and better equipped but if you are willing to put up with these hardships then you get a really good fun budget hot hatch! ...
drewboy 12.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MG ZR
Advantages: FAST, Looks, Exhaust, comfortable, good on fuel, sporty Disadvantages: dashboard look, central locking, fuel pump noise
...review is for my sweet MG ZR 160 blue 3 doors which I bought 3 months ago.
My Experience
This is one of the best cars I have owned or driven. There are few things that MG could have done to make this one of the best cars. I picked one up for 5000 for 37000 miles which was an absolute bargain due to its condition and only 1 previous owner. Looks:
If you look at this car from front, back or side it looks absolutely stunning as it comes with side ... ...lot of petrol. MG could have spent a bit of money on the dashboard, as for a sporty car the dashboard looks pretty old school. The central locking on many ZR's are not very reliable.
If you are interested in buying MG ZR then go for MG ZR 160, a lot of reviews I have read here are for MG ZR 105 which I think comes with a lot of problems. 160 are fast and will give you the satisfaction. Things to check when you buy:
Check for problems with Central ...
cute_kazuya 06.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MG ZR
Advantages: Sporty, sleek, zippy, excellant range of colours and add ons Disadvantages: Price - Just a wee bit expensive!
2005 Version of the MG ZR+ 115 TD
My brother was lucky enough to have gotten an excellent deal with his employers, who agreed to pay part payment on a brand new car for him. Wish I had the opportunity like this, but it was to allow him to travel the some 200 mile round trip to work, as he was thinking of leaving to get a new job closer to home.
After trawling through quite a few garages before Christmas, I was drawn to the MG one, just to have ... ...caught my eye, was the MG ZR+, 115 Turbo Diesel 5 door. Perfect. It was a 5 door, so suitable for ‘the family’ i.e. his wife and child, and a zippy little thing which means I could drive it, as apposed to his last, massive Megane Saloon which was just way too big for me. I also…helped… well pushed my brother to get my choice of colour, which was Rio Red, a very vibrant red colour, perfect for me!
Luckily, I have both a UK and an Irish provisional ...
Evil_Irish_Twin 24.01.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MG ZR
Advantages: Nippy, Good Road Handling, Spacy for Size, Looks Good Disadvantages: Poor equipment spec, Customer Service and Build Quality let down an otherwise great product
...I bought it from my MG Rover Inverness dealer, on a PCP which costs about £175 a month.
Other than the central locking, there was no real equipment as such fitted to the car. Standard Alloys and spoilers do look good on the outside. It is very poorly equipped, even at the low price. There were no electric windows or foglights, and the dashboard looked very bare with lots of switch blanks, but the silver dials and sports seats do look the part. I ... ...as recieved an apology from MG Rover for this despite complaining. The lacquer peeled off the front bumper and the dealer argued it was my fault for no less than an hour until i demanded MG Rover customer service be phoned immideately to explain it, when the dealer backed down and agreed it was a manafacturing defect. Then when the car was 14 months old, the engine refused to start one morning, blowing smoke out of the engine and the exhaust, with ...
MikeLB 16.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MG ZR
Advantages: Looks sporty, interior looks good, TD and 160 versions are fast Disadvantages: Depreciates in value very quickly
Introduction
The Mg Zr is based on the Rover 25 (also very similar to the old rover 200 hatchback) but has extras which make it more sporty and younger drivers are more likely to go for this model, some of the extras include:
Alloy wheels (16" grid spoke style to 17" straight)
Half Leather Sports seats
Body kit
Speed
The lowest spec: 1.4i engine produces 0-60 in 10 seconds and has a combined fuel consumption of about 41 MPG
The middle range ... ...bit faster than the standard Mg Zr to compare acceleration speeds.
Summary
Overall a nice looking car, nice and fun to drive, higher spec models are flying machines and compare to the Peugeot 206 GTI model. The miles per gallon are not too bad on any of the zr models, the Turbo Diesel version would be the fast but economical
car to get.
Not a good idea to buy one of these cars brand new and it appears to be the same for all the rover range, they ...
stella_Artois 30.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MG ZR
Advantages: Cheap, looks good, performs well Disadvantages: dated interior, parts not produced in mass
The MGZR 105 was the first car I personally owned, opting to go for the + edition, it came with electric windows, sun roof, and central locking and on alloys as standard. So from the off it's a stylish little number with the goodies list continuing with half vinyl leather effect seats, digital dash, roof spoiler and a front splitter fitted too.
This is a 1.4 K series engine knocking out around 103bhp, a lot more than other 1.4's available on the second hand market including some of the vw golf range.
Overall the car is very attractive, available in MK1 and a facelift MK2 model, my bias would suggest that MK1 is more athstetically pleasing and indeed many would agree, those who own the facelift model likely would not.
The steering of the car is nice and if you give it enough throttle you'll feel a new lease of life in every ...
kofigc 16.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of MG ZR 105
Advantages: Cheap, fun and looks good Disadvantages: occasional poor quality plastics in interior
I think that driving should not only be practical and affordable but fun. I feel that the ZR encompasses all of these factors. Some say it has max power looks, well thats their opinion. It does have extended wheel arches and more aggressive bumpers than the Rover its based upon. The alloys suit the arches nicely without looking like an afterthought.
The interior of the car is basic but who needs a tv or a mini bar in a car. The front seats are snug and will hug you around corners, they are also padded enough to ensure that even with the stiffer sports suspension you arent shaken too roughly. The steering is direct and the grip is amazing, I think its the best i've felt in a car this size. The engine is pokey and fun, it has a pleasant burble at idle and opens to more of a roar after 3000 rpm. I dont ever feel that it is an unwelcome ...
Guitarcrazy 24.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of MG ZR 105
Advantages: Sporty, modern, good on fuel Disadvantages: Head gasket goes.
I have owned one of these cars for a year now, very relaiable, the only problem is the head gasket needs replacing every 50,000 miles. I had this problem with both the rover i owned. Apart from this the car is amazing.
Its nippier than any other 1.4 i have driven. Its also very good on fuel, i get about 40 miles to the gallon driving along country roads. As long as you dont go over 4000 revs it does not seem to drink petrol. I would be looking for an mgzr for my next car as im so inpressed with this one.
I would recomend this cars to anyone, as a first time car or as just a run about.
A*** a must car for first time buyer. You will not regret buying this car. ...
chris-jones1234 02.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Rover 25 1.4
